Skystream wind turbines help power a Nova Scotia poultry farm

Glen Jennings of Masstown, N.S. can consider himself an agriculture and poultry industry pioneer. His Bayview Poultry Farms Ltd. was one of the first Nova Scotia farms to install wind turbines to generate electricity.

Bayview Poultry Farms currently has three of Southwest Windpower’s Skystream wind turbines installed, each of which at peak performance could generate enough power to supply 75 percent of the farm’s electrical demand.

Now, Jennings uses the wind-generated electricity to reduce the poultry farm’s demand on the Nova Scotia Power system. Additionally, the wind turbines help reduce energy costs and help Jennings to produce a more environmentally friendly product.

"When the turbines over-produce power on a nice windy day, they will spin your power meter backward and you will get a credit for contributing power to the grid," Jennings told Canadian Poultry Magazine.

In their first two months of operation there were only five days when Jennings’ three turbines were not generating.

Since Bayview Farms’ installation, the turbine dealer has also erected turbines at two other nearby farms, including Glen’s cousin Dave’s dairy farm next door.

According to the turbine installer, it is very easy to hook up the turbines into a farm’s barns and other buildings as their current feeds into the electrical panel connected to the farm’s regular power supply. This also helps lower the on-farm installation cost.

Second Source’s vice-president, Sandy Hines, noted, “Bayview has a phenomenal location to generate wind power. It is also a very innovative farm business, being a leader in its industry and one of the very first farms in the province to adopt wind power.”